RT Journal Article
T1 What makes housing inclusive? Multi-stakeholder perspectives on inclusion and wellbeing for people with intellectual disabilities
A1 De la Fuente Robles, Yolanda Mª
A1 Quesada Cubo, Mª Ángeles
A1 Díaz Jiménez, Rosa María
A1 Iáñez-Domínguez, Antonio
K1 inclusive housing
K1 Design for All
K1 accessibility
K1 intellectual disabilities
K1 community inclusion
K1 built environment
K1 independent living
AB Inclusive housing for people with intellectual disabilities has increasingly replaced institutional models in policy discourse. However, less attention has been paid to how housing becomes inclusive in practice and how accessibility principles translate into everyday living environments. This qualitative study explores what makes housing inclusive from a multi-stakeholder perspective, drawing on five focus groups conducted in Spain with people with intellectual disabilities, family members, professionals, policymakers and community representatives (n = 36). An inductive thematic analysis identified five interrelated environments shaping residential inclusion: physical, social, supportive, community and symbolic. Findings show that inclusive housing cannot be reduced to compliance with architectural standards or small-scale provision. Instead, it emerges from the interaction between accessible and adaptable design, cognitive and sensory accessibility, personalised and flexible support, meaningful social relationships and active connection to the surrounding neighbourhood. Participants emphasised the importance of spatial personalisation, privacy, life-course adaptability and continuity of support as central to experiencing housing as home. At the same time, rigid funding schemes, housing market barriers and gendered inequalities limit real choice and the effective implementation of independent living. The study conceptualises inclusive housing as a lived, relational and place-based process aligned with Design for All principles, linking built environment design, support systems and structural conditions in the production of wellbeing.
PB Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña y Fundación ONCE
YR 2026
FD 2026-05-11
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26568
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10433/26568
LA en
NO Journal of Accessibility and Design for All,  16 (1): 121-140
NO Universidad Pablo de Olavide. Departamento de Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales
DS RIO
RD May 23, 2026